Monica Raszewski's evocative play explores the themes of memory and identity. It concerns a daughter's search to know and understand her father's life, but Raszewski's skilful shaping of character and poetic restraint of plot give the play a lyrical and symbolic dimension that goes beyond the basic story.

We follow the character of Margaret as she attempts to gather the traces and relics of her father Janek's life - from his various relationships in Australia, to his childhood in Poland and the scene of a half-forgotten wartime atrocity. Margaret is ultimately forced to confront the notion that memory is something that cannot simply be possessed and controlled.

Three Oaks operates across several time and space boundaries, blurring the distinction between experience and memory. Music, food and language feed into fragments of Janek's life, while the Chekhovian dialogue of oblique progression omits any concrete images.

This production is essentially a restaging of the 2006 season, with few cast changes. Adam Pierzchalski is excellent as Janek, finding exactly the right line of appearing appealing and yet distant. Newcomer Olga Makeeva generates great depth as Margaret's mother Krystyna.

Zoe Ellerton-Ashley, as Margaret, brings a blind determination to her quest, though she might develop more fluency.

Marc Raszewski's set design is once again a highlight, incorporating ladders and pine needles to suggest any number of scenarios and themes.

Three Oaks is a set text on the VCE Theatre Studies course, and this production offers a rewarding interpretation for students and the general public.